"There's no end in sight," said Andy Bodenham, a Met Office forecaster. "We're still looking at cold weather for the next week, at least.

"We're expecting more sleet and snow across much of the country with temperatures as low as 23F (-5C) and as high as 43F (6C)."

He said that the big chill had been brought on by a cold blast of wind from Siberia that had settled over the country and "showed no sign of disappearing".

The forecast came as Britain recovers from the heaviest snowfalls in 18 years, which brought the transport system to a halt in many areas and prompted the closure of around 8,000 schools.

Mr Bodenham added: "The month isn't yet over, and winter is far from over, but it is over a decade since we've had weather as cold as this. It's been a very cold winter so far and it looks like it is set to continue."